My Iris are Blooming

A few weeks ago as I was snapping shots around the yard I took also took a few pictures of my Iris plants that were blooming.   Since I already had so many pictures in my post Yardly Pleasures, I decided to create a separate post featuring just the Iris.  

 When I first started blogging, way back in 2010, I did a beautiful post of my Iris in bloom.  The last few years have not had as beautiful a show since then.  This year has made a nice show so far, though still not quite as abundant.  I thought I'd just show you the pictures anyway and let you enjoy what I was able to capture.

Yellow is one of my favorites, though I have so few of these.

The deep purple of these are amazing and remind me of velvet for some reason.  LOL!

Don't ask me how I got the green background to come out like this because I don't know.  I love it though!

This is hands down my most favorite.  I love the mix of three colors here.  The orange against the pink and lavender just makes me smile in delight!

These are so big this year!

As you can see I have them everywhere.  I love breaking them up and scattering them around the yard and then enjoying them next year when they come up unexpectedly.  These are some of the most hardiest and easiest flowers to grow.  I haven't transplanted any in a few years though.  I am going to have to work on that this year.

I am especially excited about my newest Iris shown here.  I just added these a few weeks ago.  I was looking for something that was light and breezy to go along the edge of the deck here that would also have somewhat of a tropical look to it.

Imagine my surprise when I found out these plants were called African Iris plants.  They will have small delicate blooms unlike the Iris that I have.  But, what is even more special about these is that they are evergreen.  I was immediately sold!  

I am just praying I will have as much luck with these as I have had with the rest of my Iris.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I hope you enjoyed these beautiful flowers as much as I have.  It is such fun to be able to share them with you too.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Camp Life

If your expecting one of those cutesy posts with lot's of adorable vintage camping decor and such this is not it!  This the first of what I hope to be many more travel adventures in our camper under the Carolina moon.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked up on our last night of camping.  The Palmetto tree and the crescent moon are the symbols on our South Carolina state flag.  What a wonderful feeling to look up and see it in person!

I so wish I had gone back inside and gotten out my other lens to get a better close up picture.  

But as you can see I was a bit preoccupied earlier with cocktail hour.  LOL!

Here's my sweet and adorable better half!  We had such a great first trip in this new to us camper.

We certainly did make a few new memories of us.  It was such fun getting back into the swing of things after being out of camping for over 10 years now.

I didn't take to many pictures of our camper but did want to share this one glimpse of our camp life.  Were kinda messy here tonight huh?

What I really wanted to show you though was...camp life in general in the campground.  These photos were all taken while we were riding around in the golf cart so I hope you'll understand why they are not the clearest. Golf cart travel is a big thing with most campers and is fun too.  We actually have a golf cart at home but didn't bring ours because we only brought one car.  We tow with my husbands Expedition and would need to bring my car and a trailer to bring ours.  We opted just to rent a golf cart instead and we were glad we did because they were brand new 2013 models.  We stayed at Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Surfside Beach, SC.  It's one of our favorite places to go because of the location, amenity's and atmosphere.  We do not come here for peace and quiet though.  That's what other campgrounds are for!  Don't get me wrong, they have their own security police and are very strict about enforcing the rules, which is a very good thing.  What I mean is, that this is a very popular place with a good bit of activity.  I didn't photograph the amenity's and will have to do that on the next trip.  This trip I focused on just showing you a glimpse of what the actual camping life looks like.  Hold on tight while we whiz around now, okay?

Notice anything yet?

Check out the little arrangement of flowers here by the golf cart.  The sign beside it held their familys name and such.  There was another group of flowers on the backside that held a sign that simply said "garden".

Now this big rig tow was quite the extreme, but I couldn't help but notice how many large RV's there were on this trip.  Usually the large Motor homes are few and the tow-alongs are everywhere.  Well, at least that was how it was 10 yrs ago.

I was simply amazed at how many motor homes and brand new campers in general there were.  

Make no mistake about it BIG is in!  

Many campers want every possible extra they can get now too.  I certainly don't blame them.  These large campers are not the only ones that are now building TV's on the side.  We saw lot's of them!

I love seeing all the toys everyone brings with them!

I also love when you come across matchy-matchy campers.  Heehee!

And of course I love to see how people decorate and accessorize.

Of course vintage is definitely in too!  There will always be something very unique about an Airstream.

I was especially amazed at the vintage awnings on these.

Love the very vintage looking and colorful bike here!

Speaking of colorful, this is one of my most favorite shots.  Have you ever seen a better combination of machines?  LOL!  This was located right outside of one of the bathhouses.

  I was also thrilled to see that OL has updated their bathhouses as well.  I generally prefer my camper but our shower is a tight fit with little headroom.  If the bathhouses are nice I will use them in order to get more room while showering.  I must be getting older and more mature now because I used to not want to step foot in one at all.  L My motto was to get in and get out as quickly as possible.  This trip I just didn't mind.

Camping people are generally very sociable and like to have fun.

Do you see what I mean?  How cute is this?

Speaking of cute...

There are several ponds located throughout this campground.  This was only one of them.  The ducks seemed to be very people friendly this year and were everywhere.  I guess they have been fed too many times.  We had one walk right up to our campsite the first day we arrived looking for food.  I wasn't too crazy about that. They shoo away easily enough though.

I hope you enjoyed our little round about the campground.

Here's the Mr. outside of our camper enjoying the Carolina moon. He's patiently waiting on me to stop taking pictures so we can be off and enjoy our last night cruising through the campground, and that's the real reason I didn't go back in to get the other lens.  

 Our first trip really was a lot of fun! This will not be our only way to vacation but it will be a great addition to help us get away more.  I'll be sure and try to take more pics of the fun stuff people have set up around camp and amenity's in future posts.

Hope you enjoyed your visit to one of America's most famous campgrounds.

Thanks for visiting with me too!

I'm joining;

Inspire Me Tuesday

Cinco de Mayo Tablescape 2013

Sunday the Mr. and I celebrated Cinco de Mayo right here at home.  We love to eat Mexican food!  In fact we actually eat out at a local Mexican restaurant quite regularly and had just done so within a few days of Sunday.  Since we had already eaten out and because I love to cook this particular dish we decided to eat in.  So what is it that we stayed in for?

Chicken Fajita's and refried beans!  I've included my very easy cooking tutorial on this meal at the end of this post, for those of you who are like me who usually cook out of necessity.  LOL!

Of course I also wanted to take advantage of setting a very colorful table.

These napkins were purchased last year from Stein Mart.

The dishes also came from Stein Mart last year and are from Gibson.  I actually bought them for my son to take to college.  He is coming home today but brought home a few things last weekend. Just in the nick of time right?  They are perfect for Cinco de Mayo!

My flatware also came from Stein Mart as did my placemats.  The flatware I believe to also be from Gibson.

My Margarita glasses were a yard sale purchase several years ago.  I do believe they originally came from Pier 1 though, maybe.  

We dined on the small table I moved in the den a few months ago.  It was quite cozy!

The votive candle holders came from Ole Time Pottery.

Of course no Mexican meal is complete without chips and salsa.  The red plastic dish is one of a set of four that I got last year from either Walmart or Dollar tree.  I can't remember!  Sorry!

Well, now if your interested let's see how I made this meal.

Because I am a lazy cook I take the easy way out and buy frozen chicken fajita strips from Tyson.  They come in a bag and are already seasoned.  Then I add frozen peppers and onion strips from Birds eye.  I put everything in a large frying wok and heat them up together.  I don't add water because the moisture from the frozen foods is enough as it melts.

Then in a separate pan I spray it with olive oil cooking spray and add my tortilla.  I use the wheat ones.  You simply spread your meat and veggie mix down the middle and top off with cheese. 

I then use a spatula and flip it over and heat a bit more on each side.  I then set this one aside and spray the pan again and I'm ready to make the next one.  I have found it's very important to keep spraying the pan in between each fajita to keep from sticking and the olive oil actually adds a nice flavor to the fajitas. 

Serve it all up and enjoy!

Thanks so much for joining me today!

I am joining the following parties;

Let's Dish 

and

Tablescape Thursday

Have a great day everybody!